While the 2015 rankings reflected policies and budgets from before the Hogan administration, this year’s results are the first look at how Gov. Hogan’s record of underfunding schools have stalled progress in student learning.

Maryland State Education Association President Betty Weller released the following statement:

“While the National Report Card results are just another data point in time, educators wake up today frustrated to know exactly how state and county underfunding of our schools is holding back the progress we want for our kids.

“Accountability for these scores starts at the top with the governor. While Gov. Hogan spent four years playing political games with school funding—withholding $68 million, using $25 million as a bargaining chip for corporate handouts, and replicating the same cuts to after-school programs and teacher retention strategies as President Trump—students have more crowded classrooms, more outdated materials and technology, and fewer resources in the schools that need them most. The mediocre results, especially troubling for our eighth grade students, now unfortunately speak for themselves.

“Right now, the average school is underfunded by $2 million every year. It’s time for Maryland to renew its promise to every family that the state and counties will fully fund your neighborhood public school. We will not deliver equal opportunity to every child, and we will not rise back to the top of these rankings, until we pass a new state funding formula that closes our $2.9 billion annual funding shortage.”